The installation in Berlin combines both green and sustainable as well as digital and connected living. It is realised through the installation of smart energy solutions including Panasonic’s highly efficient air to water heat pumps, photovoltaic panels and storage batteries integrated into an intelligent and efficient energy management system.
Junichi Suzuki, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Europe B.V comments: "We bring to the project over 60 years of heating and cooling expertise alongside decades in PV and battery solutions, and a passion for innovations that will shape the future for generations to come."
Panasonic has achieved strong sales growth in the relevant energy business areas in Europe, e.g. double-digit sales growth in the air-to-water heat pump business for the last 10 years. In 2019, the company has also committed to substantially grow the Residential Energy Saving Equipment business by 2025.
Efficient energy management
For Panasonic, Future Living Berlin is a fundamentally important experiment in building cutting-edge energy solutions. The project marks a key stage in achieving the goals set in the strategy.
Related article:
Floating solar housing estate
Panasonic’s energy experts and software engineers of its R&D Centre in Europe have developed an intelligent energy management solution to optimise the use of locally generated, renewable energy coupled with the heating sector. The smart control combines heat pumps together with other efficient, green Panasonic technologies, such as PV panels and optional storage batteries. The technologies have been integrated into an efficient energy saving solution not only controlled, but also constantly optimised by Panasonic’s intelligent energy management solution.
As Ralf Becker, Project Leader Energy Group, Panasonic R&D Centre Europe explains: "The solution is a world first, developed with leading research institutions for decentralised energy management. In simulations together with university test labs we achieved an improvement of used energy by up to 15 per cent."
A beacon for sustainable living
The core energy component of Future Living Berlin's green and sustainable goal is the installed Panasonic air-to-water heat pump product line-up Aquarea. A highly energy efficient technology, they run almost carbon-free when powered by the renewable energy provided by the 600 Panasonic HIT panels, which supply 195 kilowatts. On account of the patented silicon technology, the Panasonic photovoltaic system is 10 per cent more efficient than conventional modules. Furthermore, Panasonic’s HIT technology achieves a significantly better performance in hot environments because of its superior temperature coefficient – an essential advantage in coping with climate change.
Utilising the renewable energy, the air-to-water system is used for space heating and warm water generation. For increased performance, the heat pumps include Aquarea Service Cloud, a cloud-based connectivity feature for installers, which makes them even more reliable. It saves further CO2 emissions as maintenance visits can be organised much more efficiently and partly even conducted remotely.
See also:
Leaders of our industry: Fabrizio Limani of Panasonic
These energy solutions are brought together under the Aquarea Smart Cloud, which allows end-users to monitor their power usage and manage temperature settings accordingly. This results in increased efficiency and comfort while enjoying transparency of their consumption.
To achieve further sustainable and green objectives, residents are part of a wider ecological environment which offers green car sharing, shared washing machines and Panasonic energy solutions. In the smart city project, Panasonic is partnering with GSW Sigmaringen, the building-owner of Future Living Berlin. (mfo)
